Ventilation control system



A 2 1960' J. V. BURGESS 2 947 239 VENTILATION CONTROL SYSTEM Filed Aug.5, 1957 INVENTOR JAMES V BURG Hui BY H ATTORNEY VENTILATION CONTROLSYSTEM James Vincent Burgess, P.(). 1301! '535, Clothier, W. Va.

Filed Aug. 5, 1957, Ser. No. 676,065

*3 Claims. (Cl. 98-50) d tates Patent'O brattices, check curtains andtemporary stoppings have been fabricated'of material which has been to acertain extent impervious to air and harmful gases, moisture and dustabsorbent, and of relatively short effective life.

It is an object of the invention to produce a ventilation control systemfor use in mining operations which overcomes the aforesaid disadvantagesand provides an economic and extremely simple means for achievingefficient air circulation control.

Another object of the invention is to produce a check curtain whichprovides an effective air seal between various areas of the mine andprovides for the passage of mining equipment therethrough.

Another object of the invention is to provide an air circulation controlsystem impervious to air, harmful gases, dust and moisture capable ofrapid installation, removal and reuse. I

These and other objects and advantages are accomplished by the provisionof mine ventilation control curtains consisting'of extended sheets offlexiblesubstantially gas impervious plastic .material which ca'njbemounted in or across'mine workings to effect the desired any of theconventional manners.

is admitted into themine working through a ventilation shaft 10 from amain air shaft 12 and into the working space, generally indicated at 14.In order to channel or control the flow of fresh air to the workingspace 14 there is provided a line brattice 16 suitably supported withinthe working shaft 18 to effectively direct the fresh air as desired. Aswill be noted, the path of the fresh air, which is generally illustratedby means of arrows, is caused to travel between the line brattice -16and the side wall of the shaft 18 until it reaches the proximity of theworking space 14. To complete the ventilation circuit,a ventilationshaft 10' is provided on the opposite side of shaft 18 to elfectcommunication to another working area or to an exhaust shaft such thatthe fresh air will be constantly circulated through the desired areas.

The material being mined is transported from the working area 14 throughshaft 18 by a shuttle car 20 which is adapted to ride on tracks 22. Toinsure that the fresh air supplied to the working area 14 is not tooquickly dissipated to other sections of the mine shaft 18, a'checkcurtain 24 is mounted in sealing relation across the shaft 18. The checkcurtain 24 maintains proper atmosphere with the working area 14 of theshaft 18 by militating against the passage of fresh air into othersections of the mine, and also elfectively prevents the entrance ofharmful gases and dust into the working area from other areas of themine.

The line brattice 16, is formed of a flexible fire resistant orretardant plastic material and may be installed in Satisfactory mannersinclude either hanging the brattice on fasteners which have been drivendirectly into the roof and walls of the mine shaft or' securing thebrattice to the vertical and horizontal supporting timbers. In mineswhich are provided with timber supports, the line brattice may becontrol of air flow therein. While any of the plastic sheet inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a plan View of a section of a mine showing various embodimentsof the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a line brattice taken along line 2-2 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the line brattice taken along line 3-3 ofFig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of a check curtain of the invention shownin Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is illustrated a section of a mine of thetype employed in coal mining wherein air mounted as illustrated in Figs.2 and 3. "In such an arrangement, the brattice 16 is provided'with aplurality of grommets 26. Hooks 28 or the like are suitably secured tothe mine 'shaft supporting timbers T at intervalscorresponding to theseparation of the grommets 26 in the line brattice 16. The hooks 28engage the grommets 26 thereby providing support for the entire weightof the line brattice. This arrangement results in easy and expeditiousinstallation and subsequent removal andreuse. of the line brattices. .Itwill be readily ap-. parent that there are many other niethod'swhichmaybe satisfactorily employed in mounting the curtains of the invention.

The sheet material comprising the line brattice 16 has a greater heightdimension than the height of the mine shaft 18 so that a portion of thebottom edge 30 will rest in intimate contact with the floor of theshaft. To prevent the passage of air, gases, or dust to selected mineworkings, weights 32, such as rocks or pieces of coal, are placed on topof the bottom edge 30 to form a relatively air-tight seal between thebottom edge of the line brattice 16 and the floor of the shaft 18thereby achieving maximum efficiency in the ventilation of the mine.

Fig. 4 illustrated the check curtain 24 which is provided as a means toseal the fresh air within the working 7 area 14 of the mine and iscomprised of three principle sections; a pair of spaced apart sidesheets or panels 34 and a center fly-sheet or panel 36. The checkcurtain 24 is comprised of flexible plastic sheet material similar tothe material of the line brattice 16. The side sheets 34 are providedwith grommets 38 along their top marginal edges and along one of theirvertical edges. The sheets 34 may be mounted in the same manner as theline brattice 16 on suitable hooks secured to the vertical supportingtimbers. To provide for the sealing of the side sheets 34 to the floorof the shaft, the sheets have a greater height dimension than the heightof the mine shaft 18 such that a portion of the bottom edges rest on thefloor of the shaft and are held in sealing relationship with the floorof the mine by weights 40 such as rocks or-pieces of coal. The spacingbetweenthe innermost free marginal edges of the sheets 34 is suflicientto permit-the passage of the shuttle car 20 or other equipmenttherebetween.

-The top marginal edge of the center fly-sheet 36 is secured to thehorizontalroof supporting timber so that the main body of thesheet-depends downwardly with the outer marginal edges of the paneladapted to overlap the inner edges of-the side sheets -34. Due to thefact that the panel 36 is suspended on the side of the sheets 34 fromwhich the fresh air is supplied, the pressuredifferentialwithin'the-mine shaft 18 is sufficient-to cause the verticaledges of the panel 36 tolay tightly against their respective matingedges-of the panels 34.

The construction of the check curtain 24 allows for the passage of theshuttle car 20 therethrough-while only momentarily breaking thesealingrelationship between the sheets 34 and the-fiy-sheet 36. Due to thesmooth flexible nature of the sheet 36, any equipment passing throughthe check curtain 24 moves thesheet 36 away from contact with the sidesheets 34 and then will fall backinto sealing relationship with the sidesheets 34-after the-equipment has passed through the curtain.

It has been found advantageous in certain instances to use atranslucentmaterial for the fly-sheet 36 of the check curtain 24 to enable light topass therethrough, while the side sheets 34 -may.either be translucentor opaque in nature.

While the illustrated embodiment of the invention has been directed toashuttle'car of the type adapted to move on tracks, it will be obviousthat the objects of the invention may likewise be achieved with the useof shuttle car equipment of the type .which travelson rubber orpneumatic tires. The latter type of equipment readily adapts itself tothe invention in that without the necessity for tracks which necessarilyextend above the level of the floor-of the mine, the loweredge of thefly sheet 36,-shW11 in Fig. 4, will be ableto lie against the floorofthemine thereby effecting an extremely eflicient closure between therespective portions of the mine shaft.

From the above description it will be apparent'to those skilled in theart, that the invention has produced a ventilation control .system whichis extremely durable, fire resistant, moisture proof, anonconductor ofelectricity, resistant to acid, grease and oil and is readily adaptablefor rapid installation, removal and subsequent reuse. Further, thesystem is one which will greatly add to the safety of mining operationsby militating against the passage of explosive gases and dust toundesired areas of the mine and also insures the proper supply of freshair to the personnel in the working areas of the mine.

I claim:

1. In a ventilation control system for a mine comprising a flexible fireresistant substantially gas impervious plastic material sheet meanssuspended transversely of the mine for sealing a section of the mine,said means having at least two side panels and a flexible center panel,said side panels being in intimate contact with the floor of the mine,meansfor securing each of said side panels to the wall of the mine, andmeans for securing the upper marginal edge of said center panel to theroof of the mine.

2. In a ventilation control system for a mine as claimed in claim 1wherein said plastic material is selected from the group consisting ofpolymers and copolymers of vinyl chloride and vinylidene chloride.

3. In a ventilation control system for a mine having pressure air-movingmeans, an air current directing member, said member-comprising anextended sheet of flexible fire resistant substantially gas imperviousplastic material, means for suspendingsaid air current directing memberdisposed adjacent and extending along the roof portion of a mine sectionwith the bottom edge of said member in intimate contact with the floorof the mine section, said means for suspending said air currentdirecting member including a substantially horizontal member disposedadjacent and extending along the roof portion of the mine section andvertical supporting elements for retaining the relative position of thehorizontal member, said means for suspending said air current directingmember and said air current directing member cooperating to provideintimate gas sealing contact therebetween, said member cooperating withthe lateral side walls of the mine section to provide anair passage ductfor effectively controlling the flow of gases in cooperation with thepressure air moving means, said plastic material being selected from thegroup consisting of polymers and copolymers of vinyl chloride andvinylidene chloride.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,778,979 Lockhart Oct. 21, 1930 2,395,689 Sernbower Feb. 26, 19462,621,725 Shacikoski Dec. 16 1952

